Holocaust center being considered at Andreas Park in Teaneck

By Megan Burrow

MANAGING EDITOR |

Teaneck Suburbanite

TEANECK - After hearing a proposal for a Holocaust memorial and center for tolerance education to be built in a section of Marie W. Andreas Park, the Teaneck Council voted to approve the township manager, attorney and engineer working with the committee behind the idea to examine what the project would entail.

The former carriage house at Andreas Park is a possible site for a Holocaust memorial and center.

The memorial would consist of a sunken granite disk and reflecting pool, encircled by benches. Bricks or stones surrounding the memorial could be purchased and inscribed with the names of friends and relatives who were killed in the Holocaust and those who survived. The education center would repurpose or replace an unused two-story carriage house in the park, and could be used for exhibits, classes and lectures on genocide and prejudice.

Steve Fox, co-chair of Teaneck Holocaust Commemoration Committee and vice-president of the Jewish Community Council of Teaneck, presented the proposal to the council at its March 19 meeting. Fox, whose father, a Holocaust survivor, escaped the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland and later fought as a partisan until the end of the war, said the memorial would be dedicated to the 11 million people, including 6 million Jews, persecuted and killed during the Holocaust.

"It is their memory we want to preserve," Fox said.

His father passed away last year at the age of 89, and with each year, the number of Holocaust survivors is diminishing, Fox said.

"In a few years there will be no more eyewitnesses to the tragedy of the Holocaust," said Fox. "We are envisioning a place that will allow people of all races to come and reflect; a place where people can remember those who perished; a place where people can bring their children, explain who their ancestors were and explain what they went through."

The education center, the first of its kind in the county, would attract groups of students for classes, lectures and exhibits that would teach the horrors of genocide and the importance of tolerance.

"It will be a place where groups of students from all over the county can come and reflect on why it’s important for every group to shun discrimination and hate and what happens when we let hate go unchecked," said Fox.

As one of the first towns in New Jersey to institute mandatory Holocaust education, Teaneck is well-suited as the site of the memorial, Fox said.

The plans presented last week are still in the conceptual phase. The center would use the footprint and "building envelope" to create a building that is "not too jarring for the residents of the area," David Abecassis, the designer of the project, said.

Due to the park’s topography, Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen said that the building would appear much smaller when seen from the street.

Bruce Prince, the president of the Jewish Community Council of Teaneck and co-chair of the committee, pledged to work with community groups and has been in touch with clergy from congregations of all faiths in town to ensure the memorial and education center would be something every resident could share.

Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin voiced his support for the plan, noting that it would be privately funded with no taxpayer money used.

After the presentation, Councilman Henry Pruitt expressed reservations about using a public park as the site of the memorial and questioned whether the center would represent the victims of other atrocities from the removal of Native Americans in the 1830s, to American slavery, to the Rwandan genocide.

"This could truly make Teaneck a destination for people who want to learn about worldwide atrocities," said Pruitt. "The question is whether or not there should be a permanent holocaust exhibit as part of that."

Resident Lillian Lewis agreed that the center should educate visitors about the violence and genocide that many groups have experienced. "There have been many grievances in this country and throughout the world," she said. "I think the center should be for all people."

Fox said that the Holocaust memorial is a vital part of the project. Without it, he said he doubted the group would be able to raise the funds necessary to build a generic education center.

"I think the people who will primarily contribute to this are people who want to commemorate the Holocaust. Our concept of having the education center will complement the Holocaust memorial, but in no way do we want to separate one from the other," he said.

Hannah Jaskoll, a 40-year Teaneck resident whose parents were Holocaust survivors, said she believes the memorial would be a nice addition to a park she visits often with her grandchildren.

"What a wonderful opportunity I would have to sit down and reflect on my grandparents that I never met, my aunts and uncles that I never met, because unfortunately they were killed. I don’t have a place to visit them. I would love to sit down at a memorial and reflect and tell my children and tell my grandchildren about their wonderful heritage," she said.

Although the committee received the approval of the Hackensack River Greenway Advisory Board for its plan, some residents voiced concerns about the location of the memorial and center so close to the nature trail, which stretches about 3 1/2 miles along the river.

"There’s a whole host of genocides that have taken place over the last 200 years," said Jim Griffin, a Teaneck resident. "Let’s take a look at this. We may come back and say that this is the best place for it, or there may be an alternative."

Laura Mausner, whose late husband was one of the founders of the greenway, said the project would disturb the natural scenery of the trail.

"There’s no question that the world should never forget the brutal attempt to methodically eliminate an entire people," she said.

"This lovely trail along the Hackensack was created to celebrate the life of the river that flows along the border of our town. It was envisioned as a natural trail designed to be devoid of manmade materials, such as concrete and asphalt. A Holocaust memorial on the tranquil spot where the old carriage house stands is totally inappropriate. The Holocaust was an engine of horror, death and destruction. By what standards does such a memorial belong on a nature trail?"

Mausner asked the council to carefully deliberate and hear from members of the public before making a decision.

Council members stressed that no action will be taken until the township manager, attorney and engineer explore all the details involved with the project.

TEANECK - After hearing a proposal for a Holocaust memorial and center for tolerance education to be built in a section of Marie W. Andreas Park, the Teaneck Council voted to approve the township manager, attorney and engineer working with the committee behind the idea to examine what the project would entail.

The memorial would consist of a sunken granite disk and reflecting pool, encircled by benches. Bricks or stones surrounding the memorial could be purchased and inscribed with the names of friends and relatives who were killed in the Holocaust and those who survived. The education center would repurpose or replace an unused two-story carriage house in the park, and could be used for exhibits, classes and lectures on genocide and prejudice.

Steve Fox, co-chair of Teaneck Holocaust Commemoration Committee and vice-president of the Jewish Community Council of Teaneck, presented the proposal to the council at its March 19 meeting. Fox, whose father, a Holocaust survivor, escaped the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland and later fought as a partisan until the end of the war, said the memorial would be dedicated to the 11 million people, including 6 million Jews, persecuted and killed during the Holocaust.

"It is their memory we want to preserve," Fox said.

His father passed away last year at the age of 89, and with each year, the number of Holocaust survivors is diminishing, Fox said.

"In a few years there will be no more eyewitnesses to the tragedy of the Holocaust," said Fox. "We are envisioning a place that will allow people of all races to come and reflect; a place where people can remember those who perished; a place where people can bring their children, explain who their ancestors were and explain what they went through."

The education center, the first of its kind in the county, would attract groups of students for classes, lectures and exhibits that would teach the horrors of genocide and the importance of tolerance.

"It will be a place where groups of students from all over the county can come and reflect on why it’s important for every group to shun discrimination and hate and what happens when we let hate go unchecked," said Fox.

As one of the first towns in New Jersey to institute mandatory Holocaust education, Teaneck is well-suited as the site of the memorial, Fox said.

The plans presented last week are still in the conceptual phase. The center would use the footprint and "building envelope" to create a building that is "not too jarring for the residents of the area," David Abecassis, the designer of the project, said.

Due to the park’s topography, Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen said that the building would appear much smaller when seen from the street.

Bruce Prince, the president of the Jewish Community Council of Teaneck and co-chair of the committee, pledged to work with community groups and has been in touch with clergy from congregations of all faiths in town to ensure the memorial and education center would be something every resident could share.

Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin voiced his support for the plan, noting that it would be privately funded with no taxpayer money used.

After the presentation, Councilman Henry Pruitt expressed reservations about using a public park as the site of the memorial and questioned whether the center would represent the victims of other atrocities from the removal of Native Americans in the 1830s, to American slavery, to the Rwandan genocide.

"This could truly make Teaneck a destination for people who want to learn about worldwide atrocities," said Pruitt. "The question is whether or not there should be a permanent holocaust exhibit as part of that."

Resident Lillian Lewis agreed that the center should educate visitors about the violence and genocide that many groups have experienced. "There have been many grievances in this country and throughout the world," she said. "I think the center should be for all people."

Fox said that the Holocaust memorial is a vital part of the project. Without it, he said he doubted the group would be able to raise the funds necessary to build a generic education center.

"I think the people who will primarily contribute to this are people who want to commemorate the Holocaust. Our concept of having the education center will complement the Holocaust memorial, but in no way do we want to separate one from the other," he said.

Hannah Jaskoll, a 40-year Teaneck resident whose parents were Holocaust survivors, said she believes the memorial would be a nice addition to a park she visits often with her grandchildren.

"What a wonderful opportunity I would have to sit down and reflect on my grandparents that I never met, my aunts and uncles that I never met, because unfortunately they were killed. I don’t have a place to visit them. I would love to sit down at a memorial and reflect and tell my children and tell my grandchildren about their wonderful heritage," she said.

Although the committee received the approval of the Hackensack River Greenway Advisory Board for its plan, some residents voiced concerns about the location of the memorial and center so close to the nature trail, which stretches about 3 1/2 miles along the river.